plays works by Barraqué, Debussy, Liszt & Neuburger Jean Frédéric Neuburger

• Ferencz Liszt (1811-1886): Funérailles (Harmonies poétiques et religieuses, S. 173 No. 7)
• 1Funérailles (Harmonies poétiques et religieuses, S. 173 No. 7)10:40
• Neuburger: Maldoror
• 2Maldoror19:54
• Jean-Henri-Alphonse Barraqué (1928-1973): Piano Sonata
• 3Première partie20:26
• 4Deuxième partie18:15
• Claude Achille Debussy (1862-1918): No. 2 from Images pour piano - Book 2
• 5Livre II, Et la lune descend sur le temple qui fut05:49
• Total Runtime01:15:04

Info for plays works by Barraqué, Debussy, Liszt & Neuburger

Maldoror' is a fantastic panorama lasting around twenty minutes, freely inspired by the poetic and subversive universe of Lautréamont's 'Chants de Maldoror' (1868). One may detect in it a hotchpotch of influences, including Stockhausen, Xenakis for the fragmentation of the piano at certain points, and probably even the Schumann of the Phantasiestücke. In addition to the traditional virtuosity demanded by the work, the pianist must prepare the strings of four bass notes in order to produce a deformed sound, more percussive in nature, while still retaining the resonant aspect of the piano. However, we are not dealing here with a genuine percussion-piano in the manner of John Cage, but rather an imaginary organ pedalboard and deformations, almost to the point of ugliness, of the attacks in the instrument's bottom register. (Jean Frederic Neuburger)

“His sense of energy and concentration throughout is certainly impressive, and it is interesting to hear this important, underperformed work [the Barraqué] played with such conviction....This disc is well worth hearing, not least for the Barraqué Sonata.” (International Record Review)

Jean Frédéric Neuburger, piano

Jean Frédéric Neuburger
Born in 1986, Jean-Frédéric Neuburger showed an exceptional musical aptitude and curiosity very early. Having begun studying the piano with Claude Maillols at a young age, he also developed a passion for the organ and, encouraged by Emile Naoumoff and Jean-François Zygel, composition. Deciding to focus on the piano, he entered the Paris Conservatory in 2000, where he received highest honours in piano, accompaniment, and chamber music in the classes of Jean-François Heisser, Jean Koerner, Itamar Golan, Christian Ivaldi and Marie-Françoise Bucquet.

Since being recognized by the Académie Maurice Ravel at the age of 15, he has been the laureate of numerous international competitions, including four prizes at the 2004 Long-Thibaud competition and won the 2006 YCA Auditions held in New York. Under the YCA auspices, he made his USA debuts in December 2006, including recitals at the Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall, New York and at the Kennedy Center, receiving great public and critical acclaim. Even more than these outstanding achievements, it is for his personality and extraordinary musical maturity that Jean-Frédéric Neuburger is much sought-after as recitalist, having already performed at such prestigious events as the Festivals of Auvers sur Oise, Radio-France-Montpellier, La Roque d’Anthéron, Bagatelle, les Folles journées de Nantes, Lisbonne and Tokyo. He has also given recitals at the Auditorium du Louvre, Auditorium du Musée d’Orsay, Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord, the Chopin Festival at Duznicki and the Chopin-Gesellschaft at Darmstadt. In November 2007, he will give his debut recital at Suntory Hall, Tokyo. As soloist, he has appeared with the Baden-Baden Philharmonic, Danish National Orchestra, Orchestre National de Montpellier, the London Philharmonic and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France. In 2006, he made two important debuts; in Shanghai with the Shanghai Philharmonic and in Tokyo with the New York Philharmonic and Lorin Maazel. In May 2007, he played for the re-opening season of Paris’ prestigious Salle Pleyel before returning to America for summer festivals and journeying to Japan with Orchestre national de Lyon. He is invited to play with London Philharmonic Orchestra and Orchestre Philharmonique de Liège during the 2008 season.

Devoted to perfecting his art, Jean-Frédéric Neuburger currently studies with Reiko Hozu and Vladimir Krainev and is, above all, dedicated to discovering new repertoire - whether for solo piano or chamber music - from Bach to contemporary composers. In 2003, at the age of 16, he recorded the complete Chopin Etudes for the « Disc’Auvers » collection, a version that has already been compared to those by the great masters. A double CD with one disc dedicated to Chopin and the other featuring a live recital was released in March 2006, and Jean-Frédéric’s recording of the complete Czerny “The Art of Finger Dexterity” has just been released on the Mirare record label.

This album contains no booklet.